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| What kind of wood? http://www.nelsonandhisworld.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1597 |
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| Author: | Marzy [ Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:54 pm ] |
| Post subject: | What kind of wood? |
Regarding cannon, which was the most common wood used? Perhaps it was only one which had the suitable qualities? Was some kind of 'standard' used akin to the later BS kind of thing? David. |
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| Author: | Mark Barrett [ Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:49 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What kind of wood? |
David The obvious thought is that the gun carriages must have been made of oak - but apparently not!! I have an article here about Gun carriages and a section is headed "Timber employed". It states the following: The type of wood used in the sea service was almost universally elm (the land service used oak), which has the advantage of having a grain that seldom runs true, and which consequently provides a degree of vertical support, even when the grain theoretically runs horizontally, which due to the length of the gun it must. Elm is a hard durable wood, which makes for longevity, and of all European woods is probably the most resistant to rot, which in the perpetually damp atmosphere of the wooden warship is at least one of if not the prime consideration. A further much-appreciated advantage of elm was that it did not splinter easily, and in the Navy, where splinters accounted for a major proportion of deaths in action, this was a considerable asset. Hopefully that answers your question. MB |
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| Author: | Marzy [ Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:06 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What kind of wood? |
Thanks for your answer, yes quite surprising it was Elm. Probably the Elm was left to 'season' in a controlled environment before suitable protective 'tars' were applied. The rammer or box pole would of been another kind of wood i guess,(maybe Ash) the last thing one wanted was that to fracture during operation! I wager a new cannon would have a strong pungent odour. David. |
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| Author: | Mark Barrett [ Thu Feb 06, 2014 11:51 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What kind of wood? |
David Rather than protective tars that article goes on to say that ALL carriages (with very rare exceptions) were painted with a basic red ochre paint. The name red ochre is a bit misleading as that pigment can range from brown to red to yellow. Hence the colour scheme of the cannon currently on HMS Victory. 
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